—_____.It's a spare one.
“Mum ,can I invite my classmate Brett over to stay tomorrow night, please? It's Friday ,and we don't have any,Can I1 please?”Mum was sitting at the kitchen table. Dad was2next to her, resting his head on his arms. Mum could3that James wanted so badly to have his friend over.
“I'm so sorry, James,”she said.
“I'm never allowed to have friends come to the house? Why, Mum?”James asked sadly ,almost in4
“I know it's5for you,”Mum said softly.“But I'm just worried other people might think we're a little... strange. And then they would make fun of you.”
“No, they wouldn't, Mum,”James protested.“We're not6at all. We're just ordinary people.”
Mum sighed heavily.“To tell you the truth, James, my neck has been so painful that it's given me a heavy7And your poor father—he doesn't feel8He really needs a rest.”
“I can help, Mum!”James said.“9I can make you and Dad feel better ,can Brett come over? Please?”
“Well...”Mum began.
“Great !Thanks, Mum!”James almost shouted.“Just sit there ,don't move.”He rushed over to the kitchen drawer and10what he needed—two spanners(扳手).“Hang on, Mum,”he said.“This won't take a second.”After some11, James was finished. With a smile of12on his face he said,“There! How does that feel? ”“Oh, James,”Mum said.“That's much better! How did you do it?”
“Easy,”James said13“Dad had tightened your neck bolts(螺栓)too much! I just14them slightly !I learned that in robotic science at school.”
“What about your father? Can you15him?”asked Mum.
“I'll try,”James replied. He16up Dad's hair at the back of his neck , and plugged the electric wire into Dad's head. Then he turned the17on. Dad opened his eyes and18immediately .“ He just let his19run too low ,that's all,”James said,“Shall I tell Brett to come over straight after school tomorrow?”
“I guess so,”replied Mum.“Your friends will just have to20that we are a very unusual family. Thanks, son!”
Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探险)but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter's age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry's later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures.
Larry's first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different Spots for free. Larry didn't even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.
Close your eyes for a minute and imagine what life would be like if you had a hundred dollars less．Also imagine what it would be like spending the rest of your life with you eyes closed．Imagine having to read this page, not with your eyes but with your finger-tips．
With existing medical knowledge and skills, two-thirds of the world's 42 million blind should not have to suffer．Unfortunately, rich countries posses most of this knowledge, while developing countries do not．
ORBIS is an international non-profit organization which operates the world's only flying teaching eye hospital．ORBIS intends to help fight blindness worldwide．Inside a DC-8 aircraft, there is a fully-equipped teaching hospital with television studio and classroom．Doctors are taught the latest techniques of bringing sight back to people there．Project ORBIS also aims at promoting peaceful cooperation（合作） among countries．
ORBIS tries to help developing countries by providing training during three-week medical programs．ORBIS has taught sight-saving techniques to over 35,000 doctors and nurses, who continue to cure tens of thousands of blind people every year．ORBIS has conducted 17 plane programs is China so far．For the seven to ten million blind in China ORBIS is planning to do more for them．At the moment an ORBIS is working on a long-term plan to develop a training center and to provide eye care service to Shanxi Province．ORBIS needs your help to continue their work and free people from blindness．
For just US$38,you can help one person see; for $380 you can bring sight to 10 people; $1,300 helps teach a doctor new skills; and for $13,000 you can provide a training program for a group of doctors who can make thousands of blind people see again．Your money can open their eyes to the world．Please help ORBIS improve the quality of life for so many people less fortunate than ourselves．
Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one's personal life or in the general society. Progress indicates a person's ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead a better way of doing things. All these, however, remains true only in so far as people want to accept technology and move forward by finding new and more efficient ways of doing things.
However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who missed the “good old days”, efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and at whatever time they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication gadgets, such as mobile phones and ipads, people often do not take the effect to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with it the additional feature of having to be in the person's presence for as long as the visit lasts. We cannot unnecessarily excuse our selves or turn the other person off.
With efficiency also comes mass production. Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy than any human hand could ever have done. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handcrafts(手工艺品) are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.
Nevertheless, we must not commit the mistake of analyzing progress only from one point of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.
It is people's attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people's attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to rethink their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.
【1】A safari park is a park in which wild animals are kept. They are mainly located in east or central Africa. They often occupy a very wild area, with mountains and rivers. To visit the park and look at the animals, people have to drive around in a car for a few of hours because the park is huge.
【2】In south Africa there is a safari park, which contains all sorts of wild animals like lions, elephants, rhinoceroses(犀牛), zebras, wild pigs, deer and giraffes.
【3】There is a wild road leading through the park, but nobody is permitted to walk on the road. Anyone traveling in the park has to go in a car because wild animals may fiercely attack people. From the car he may see almost every types of African wildlife. Some of these are getting scarce (稀有的) because people kill them for various reasons. For example, rhinoceroses are killed for their horns (角), which are used in traditional Chinese medicines for colds and headaches. Perhaps they will be seen only in museums and books one day.
【4】Travels may buy food for the animals. They can feed them when they tour the park. Of course, they should not feed them in a close distance because the wild animals may attack people. In addition, they should only give proper food to the animals.
【5】A traveler may carry a gun with him in his journey. The gun is given to him by the government. However, it is not used for hunting. In fact, a seal(封条) is fixed to it. The traveler may fire at a wild beast to defend himself in case he is attacked. However, he has to prove to the government that he has been attacked and that he has not fired at a harmless animal.
1）学会学习：方法，习惯等；
2）学会做人：真诚，友善；
3）学会其他：考生自拟。
注意：1）词数120左右；
2）发言稿开头和结尾已给出。
Good morning, everyone! It is my honor to be here to share with you my opinions on what to learn in senior high school.
Thank you!
